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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27466387">Taut</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nubianamy/pseuds/nubianamy'>nubianamy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Shipping Kurtofsky [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Glee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad BDSM Etiquette, College, Dom/sub Play, Kink Negotiation, M/M, Rope Bondage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:22:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,163</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27466387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nubianamy/pseuds/nubianamy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt's perspective on what happened between him and Dave.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kurt Hummel/David Karofsky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Shipping Kurtofsky [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Kurtofsky Week - Ten Year Anniversary</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Taut</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For <a href="https://karofsky.tumblr.com/post/630911758407745536/kurtofsky-week-the-10-year-anniversary-dates">Day 7 of Kurtofsky Week, 10th Anniversary Edition</a> (Weddings). </p><p>This is a follow-up to Rigging from Kurt's point of view.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">The second time Dave showed up at B-W’s Kink+ student group meeting, it was with Kurt’s permission. It gave Kurt an incredible rush to have Dave ask, <em>Would you mind if I came to Friday’s munch?</em></p><p class="p1"><em>I wouldn’t mind, </em>Kurt told him. <em>But I would prefer we keep this private for now. </em></p><p class="p1">The reason for that was simple. Kurt knew the value of a secret to heighten a scene. In many ways, it was like theater, the most revealing, personal theater he’d ever done. He was in control of the plot, the characters, the setting, the tension, and the outcome. The only thing he had to know in order to make it work was the characters’ motivation, and he was still figuring out Dave’s.</p><p class="p1">Maybe it really was nothing more than <em>this is really hot,</em> which is what Dave had said to him upon completing his kink checklist, but Kurt knew it wasn’t that simple. Not that there wasn’t some dynamite energy between the two of them, but he knew that was only partly about physical attraction.</p><p class="p1">He would have to do a little more digging into Dave’s past to learn about what made him tick. He had Dave’s background, but the years between his departure from McKinley and his current situation were still a mystery.</p><p class="p1">For that, he turned to Dave’s Fetlife account. <em>Tiedinknots07 M20 submissive</em> had apparently been a member of that site since 2012, Dave’s senior year of high school. For all Kurt knew, he might have had a stealth account before that, but he doubted it. Dave was a rule-follower.</p><p class="p1">Dave hadn’t posted any photos of himself, but he had written rather a lot in response to others over the past couple of years. Most of his activity had happened during the summer before college and during winter break of freshman year. Until last week, there had been nothing since spring of 2013. Dave’s last activity during that time had been to accept a friend request from <em>BraveBeforePerfect M22 Top,</em> who was from Columbus, Ohio. His photos were artsy, and included some of young men in leather in various compromising positions. Kurt spent far too much time trying to figure out if any of them were Dave.</p><p class="p1">He sent BraveBeforePerfect a friend request, along with a message saying, <em>I’m looking to vet a sub. Someone you’ve played with? </em>He included a link to Dave’s profile. He didn’t expect to get an answer right away, but that was okay. There was plenty to do to prepare for Dave’s scene.</p><p class="p1">Dave’s kink checklist was unremarkable, but it provided a wide field for Kurt to play in. He decided to start with rope bondage. Dave was methodical and patient, a real asset in a sub. Kurt guessed he would appreciate the artistry as much as the sensation.</p><p class="p1">It was hard for Kurt to tell exactly what was going on with Dave. He would just have to trust what Dave told him until they could meet face to face—and Dave seemed to be one hundred percent on board. He wasn’t the only one. Kurt found himself in a constant state of adrenaline-fueled arousal. From day to day, his plans grew more elaborate, but at night, his dreams were murky, blending erotic situations with memories of being persecuted in high school. More than once, he woke on the verge of coming, without any clear sense of what had driven him there.</p><p class="p1">On Friday, he received a response from BraveBeforePerfect that hit him like a gut-punch: <em>He’s a good sub, but a terrible boyfriend. I think he’s still carrying a torch for someone from his past. </em></p><p class="p1">Kurt thanked him, his mind whirling. “Someone from his past” wasn’t guaranteed to be him, but his ego had a hard time imagining it could be anyone else. He was going to need to consider what to do about that.</p><hr/><p class="p1">At the munch on Friday, Kurt arrived before Dave did. He appreciated having a little time to talk and hang out with the long-standing members of the group; none of them required him to be <em>on</em> in the same way that he would inevitably be around Dave.</p><p class="p1">When Dave did arrive, he distanced himself from Kurt, choosing a seat at the end of the table. He, too, seemed not to mind a little break from whatever it was the two of them were creating. Even so, Kurt kept one ear on Dave’s conversation with Fiona.</p><p class="p1">“I think we all had defining moments that gave us a clue about what we wanted,” Fiona said at one point, to Dave. “How about you? When did you figure it out?”</p><p class="p1">“In—the locker room,” Dave said.</p><p class="p1">Kurt didn’t look at him. He knew Dave was <em>not looking</em> at him, too. But as soon as Dave left the coffee shop, he sent him a text. <em>You really didn’t know until that moment?</em></p><p class="p1"><em>About me?</em> Dave replied. <em>I guess I probably did know something, but it hadn’t been clear until then. It wasn’t like your fault or anything.</em></p><p class="p1">Kurt frowned. <em>I was all prepared to take credit for corrupting you. </em></p><p class="p1"><em>Definitely not, </em>Dave said. <em>I’m the one who kissed you, right? </em>And then, a minute later, <em>Do you think there’s something wrong with me? </em></p><p class="p1"><em>That’s a complicated question,</em> Kurt replied. <em>Why do you care what I think?</em></p><p class="p1">He didn’t hear back from Dave that evening. He could have answered his question, but he chose not to. His goal wasn’t to reassure Dave. He wanted him on his toes, wondering about Kurt’s motivation. This wasn’t about friendship. It was about control—and Kurt loved being in control.</p><hr/><p class="p1">Kurt knew the moment when he realized exactly what he wanted—or, more precisely, what he <em>didn’t</em> want.</p><p class="p1">It wasn’t Dave’s kiss in the McKinley locker room. That he remembered mostly with frustration. In retrospect, he could have handled it so much better, but he’d been so thrown off balance by Dave’s unexpected action, he didn’t say anything. </p><p class="p1">It wasn’t even the moment at their junior prom, walking beside King Dave in his tuxedo, all eyes on them together. Dave had been on the verge of bolting from the room, and Kurt had wanted nothing more than to grab him and <em>make</em> him do exactly what he wanted him to do. When Dave turned to him, with panicked apology, <em>I can’t, </em>before running off, Kurt had felt… pleased. Not victorious, but satisfied by Dave’s abdication of the throne. Kurt was on top, just where he wanted to be.</p><p class="p1">No, that moment had occurred at his father and Carole’s wedding, when Finn had said, <em>I put together a little number in your honor, and you’re going to dance it with me, dude. </em>He hadn’t invited Kurt to dance. He hadn’t even given Kurt the choice to say no. If Kurt had, he would have ruined the scene. Kurt had never told Finn exactly how much that had bothered him. He swore, after that moment, that he wouldn’t allow himself to be put in a position to have his power taken away from him. Not by Finn, not by Dave Karofsky, not by anybody.</p><p class="p1"><em>I got my STI panel back,</em> Dave texted him. <em>No problems. Do you want me to send you a copy?</em></p><p class="p1">
  <em>I don’t think that’s necessary. Should I be concerned about you lying to me?</em>
</p><p class="p1">Kurt knew that was an even more complicated question. Rule-follower or not, Dave had lied to everybody in his life for years, just as Kurt himself had about being gay. But Dave’s answer, <em>I wouldn’t lie about this, </em>was a satisfying one. He spent the rest of the evening practicing tying chest harnesses and daydreaming about Dave on his knees.</p><hr/><p class="p1">By the time Friday rolled around, Kurt felt prepared for Saturday. Dave was going to provide the rope; he agreed Kurt could provide the blindfold. Everything was in place.</p><p class="p1">Except he couldn’t help but wonder, if Dave was still having feelings about him, was it really responsible of him to be doing this at all? Was he just being selfish? Taking advantage of Dave? Dave clearly wanted it too, but that didn’t mean it was a good idea. He’d told Kurt, <em>I’m trying not to make this too big of a deal. </em>And Kurt wasn’t entirely sure what Dave had done to get out of working on Saturday.</p><p class="p1">Maybe the fact that Dave’s ex had called him <em>a terrible boyfriend</em> implied something about Dave that Kurt didn’t really want to deal with. It was true that Dave had been terrible to him before, but he wasn’t being anything like that now. He’d said <em>I guess I want to thank you</em> for what Kurt had done for him. That was… sweet.</p><p class="p1">Even so, there were too many variables for him to feel comfortable. He renewed his resolve to be cautious going into this scene. Just as Kurt had told Dave, if Dave said no, or anything close to no, he would stop, and that would be it.</p><hr/><p class="p1">Kurt watched Dave climb out of the taxi and approach his apartment building from the kitchen window. He looked nervous, but that was how he should look. Kurt shook his head in trepidation. <em>What am I missing?</em></p><p class="p1">But the moment Kurt opened the door to let him in, Dave’s face smoothed into a smile. “Your place smells like you.”</p><p class="p1"><em>Sweet,</em> Kurt thought again, watching Dave try not to look at his ass, and managed to avoid smiling back. He accepted the bundle of rope from Dave.</p><p class="p1">“Do you want to tell me anything?” he offered again, but Dave shook his head. He probably didn’t even realize exactly what Kurt was asking. Kurt couldn’t very well ask <em>are you still in love with me</em>, not when they were about to walk into a scene. He was just going to have to assume that Dave was going to be able to handle it.</p><p class="p1">Keeping his voice calm and direct, he gave Dave directions to hydrate and shower, and watched as his eyelids dropped. Subspace wasn’t quite like hypnosis. While he was in this semi-altered state, Dave would have a hard time making good decisions, but he still had free will. At least he didn’t seem bothered by Kurt’s suggestion that he didn’t need any clothes.</p><p class="p1">Then Dave opened his mouth again. <em>He’s going to tell me to stop,</em> Kurt thought in dismay. Quickly, he put a finger over Dave’s lips, and Dave subsided.</p><p class="p1">As soon as Dave disappeared into the bathroom, Kurt let out a shaky breath. He would take it easy, and go very slowly. Dave would still have opportunities to end the scene.</p><p class="p1"><em>You’re failing him,</em> he told himself.</p><p class="p1">“Shut up,” he growled aloud. “I know what he needs.”</p><p class="p1">Kurt had never before had an opportunity to see Dave without clothing on, apart from in his own fantasies. Certainly he’d never seen him wide-eyed and tentative. Waiting for Kurt to take the lead.</p><p class="p1">He felt so certain his own expression of wanting was going to betray him, he took his time taking off his shirt and hid inside for a few brief moments before telling Dave to come closer. Even so, he had no words left to say <em>turn around,</em> so he just gestured. Dave responded immediately, waiting in silence while Kurt put a hand on Dave’s bare skin for the first time. It was all he could do not to rut against him, like a dog in heat.</p><p class="p1">Taking him through basic mobility exercises gave Dave another opportunity to say <em>no, stop, </em>or even <em>ouch, that hurts,</em> but Dave said nothing of the sort. He didn’t flinch or even resist. When he shook his head, Kurt could tell it was in response to his question, “Do you have any issues with mobility?” and not a request to slow down.</p><p class="p1">“All right,” he said, somewhat unsteadily, but Dave was too far gone to notice. He helped Dave climb onto the bed, then sit cross-legged, his arms crossed over his chest. When Kurt stroked his head, he let out a rapturous sigh that brought tears to Kurt’s eyes. He swallowed. “Let’s—get started.”</p><p class="p1">At least this part could go as slowly as Kurt wanted it to. Dave barely moved from where he was, breathing slowly and evenly, while Kurt looped the pliable hemp rope around his chest, his arms, over his shoulders, knotting it securely at his solar plexus. All the while, he tried to quiet the shiver in his gut, the irresponsible, mounting desire to toss his plan out the window and ravage Dave, right there in the middle of his bed.</p><p class="p1">He didn’t, of course. Even when he helped Dave to his knees, Kurt managed to maintain some distance from what he was doing, what he was feeling.</p><p class="p1">What was he feeling? Kurt paused, his hand caressing Dave as he settled against the taut ropes, allowing them to support him, keeping him safe. Loving him.</p><p class="p1">He ground to a halt. <em>Oh, no. </em>He didn’t—he <em>couldn’t—</em></p><p class="p1">“Kurt?” Dave said, turning his head to look.</p><p class="p1">“Quiet.” Why hadn’t he insisted on a blindfold? He reached out and turned Dave’s head to face the wall again, but it was already too late. The spell was broken, and Dave was struggling against his ropes.</p><p class="p1">“Are—are you okay?”</p><p class="p1"><em>You totally fucked this up</em>, taunted the voice in his head.</p><p class="p1">“Shut up,” he whispered. He was not going to cry.</p><p class="p1">“Look,” Dave sighed, sounding resigned, “it’s over.”</p><p class="p1"><em>He told you to stop, </em>Kurt thought wildly. <em>No. It can’t be over.</em></p><p class="p1">“You don’t have to do this anymore. I know you don’t really—“</p><p class="p1">If said one word, Kurt was going to burst into tears and start begging, which he knew was the last thing any sub would want from his Dom. In desperation, he brought his hand down on Dave’s backside. Dave let out a gasp and went immediately still. Even in the midst of all the drama, Kurt felt his own body’s response, and he gritted his teeth in exasperation.</p><p class="p1"><em>You said you’d listen to him,</em> Kurt told himself. <em>You have to untie him now. </em></p><p class="p1">But Dave was leaning into his hand, not trying to get away. He was just waiting. Waiting for Kurt to take the lead. When Kurt put a tentative hand on his back, he didn’t feel him shaking or tensing up. <em>He trusts me.</em> That was more comforting than Kurt knew what to do with.</p><p class="p1">“I’m not here to punish you,” Kurt said, trying to keep his voice as unemotional as possible. At least Dave couldn’t see the expression on his face.</p><p class="p1">“Why not?” Dave murmured, not contradicting him, just wondering. “I deserve it.”</p><p class="p1">“No,” Kurt protested. “You apologized, three years ago. And I accepted it then.” Even if it was over, he couldn’t let Dave think he’d done anything wrong. He slid his hands up Dave’s torso to rest on his shoulders, feeling him squirm beneath his touch, then turned him over to lie on his back. “I’m not trying to shame you. That’s not my kink. Maybe it’s yours, I don’t know.”</p><p class="p1">“Not exactly.” Dave gazed up at him, his expression sheepish. “I think I’m already kind of ashamed of how I look. I don’t really think I need more of that.”</p><p class="p1">Kurt felt the outrage wash over him. <em>No sub of mine is going to feel like that. </em>It was the ultimate in hubris to even think it, but the idea of Dave feeling anything bad about himself, at <em>all, </em>was worse. He narrowed his eyes. “No. You really don’t.”</p><p class="p1">“I got over it.” He did a little shrug, the most movement he could make within the constraints of the chest harness. “Really. It’s—“</p><p class="p1"><em>Who’s in charge here?</em> he wanted to bark, but that would have just scared him. Just thinking about that propelled him forward. Dave let out a startled <em>oh</em>, then a moan, as Kurt clambered over his legs and straddled him, forcing him against the bed with his elbows on Dave’s shoulders. When he pressed a flat hand over Dave’s mouth, Kurt felt the vibration of Dave’s second moan against his palm. He didn’t feel worried anymore. <em>Mine, </em>he thought, and reveled in it.</p><p class="p1">Kurt moved in, right up against his face, close enough to kiss him. “It’s not your job to tell me if it’s okay or not. It’s your job to take what’s coming to you. Nod once if you understand.”</p><p class="p1">Dave’s eyes, wide and grateful, conveyed what his words could not as he nodded with enthusiasm. He was so broad and firm and warm and, <em>god,</em> Kurt loved him, he <em>did.</em> Maybe he was giving up some of his control to feel this way, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter at all, because it was just part of all the things he felt, all mixed up together, power and affection and dazzling lust.</p><p class="p1">He nodded in satisfaction. “That’s better.”</p><p class="p1">With care, he inched back down along Dave’s quivering body, and lowered himself onto the ropes that bound his legs together. It provided a perfect surface against which to grind, but still, he waited.</p><p class="p1">“You said you know why I’m here,” Kurt added. He stroked his cheek with gentle fingers, wondering if Dave could tell how he felt. He thought, maybe, by his thunderstruck expression, that he might have guessed. “Do I want to stop?”</p><p class="p1">“N-no, don’t stop—“</p><p class="p1"><em>How about that, he said no again. </em>He felt like laughing again, but it was beyond that now. “I didn’t ask that. Do <em>I</em> want to stop?”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t—“ Dave let out a gasp. “Oh my god, oh, my <em>god…</em>”</p><p class="p1">“No.” Kurt thrust hard against Dave’s bound legs, loving his cries as he kissed his perfect skin. “I really don’t. But you can still beg.”</p><p class="p1">Part of him wondered what might happen if he let Dave thrust up into his mouth, but his body played him for a traitor, and he came in his gray pants, rutting again Dave in desperate need as Dave groaned, <em>“Please.”</em></p><p class="p1">It would have been more than a little embarrassing if he hadn’t already been so awash in feelings. Kurt found himself admiring Dave’s control. He still hadn’t come, though he was twitching with every touch. He rested his head on Dave’s stomach with a contented sigh.</p><p class="p1">“There is <em>nothing</em> wrong with you,” Kurt assured him. “And there is not one thing about you, Dave, that I do not want.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh,” Dave said, sounding bewildered, “oh—Kurt.”</p><p class="p1">“You agreed. You said you’d let me do what I wanted to do.” He let himself touch and tease him, listening with delight to Dave’s moans without worrying about when, or if, he might end up coming. “And that’s what I’m doing.”</p><p class="p1">Dave gave up trying to raise his head high enough to see Kurt and let it fall back onto the bed. He laughed in gratitude, and Kurt found himself doing the same.</p><p class="p1">“I’m all yours,” Dave whispered.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah,” Kurt said, smiling. “You are.”</p>
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